I know this is last week's topic, and technically Christmas is past (and my birthday too - that was yesterday!). BUT. I am flying to Seattle tonight for a week-long vacation with my family, so all celebrations have been delayed. It's quite possible that my siblings and parents still need gift ideas. I also figure that many of you have gift cards and cash from the holiday that you haven't spent yet, so these may work as fun gift-for-yourself ideas. In any case, I'm not yet ready to share my best reads of 2013. This is it for today!

Top Ten Books or Book-Related Items I'd Like to Receive for Christmas or Birthday

2. Elementary (All-New Tales of the
Elemental Masters) edited by Mercedes Lackey – I love Lackey’s Elemental
Masters series. I reviewed Serpent’s Shadow, and have featured several of the following books in Waiting on Wednesday posts… This latest collection is
set in the Elemental Masters world, but written by other authors and
collected/edited by Lackey. Is it author-approved
fan fiction? I don’t know, but I do love
this world and magic enough to read ANYTHING related.

3. 1984 necklace by Out of Print clothing
– I remember diligently going down the required and suggested reading lists in
high school. 1984 was one of the books that stunned me. I couldn’t believe how relevant and chilling
it was. This little necklace caught my
eye just as those words caught my imagination years ago.

4. Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint –
My two favorite de Lint titles are wrapped up in this one package. I’ve never owned it, though I checked out
the title many times from the King County Library System. I’d love to have my own copy on the bookshelf
to reread again and again.

5. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton – I read
this book for the first time this summer, and loved it to pieces. The copy I bought is an old library
paperback, and I already know I’ll want something in better shape to keep forever
and ever, amen.

6. Letters to Children by C.S. Lewis, edited by Lyle
W. Dorsett and Marjorie Lamp Mead – Because I love C.S. Lewis’ writing
(fiction and non-fiction!), and I am weirdly interested in how people write
letters. I’ll put the latter down to the
fact that I had pen pals from all around the world as a kid. I shudder to think of the postage now!

7. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson – Angie
at Angieville has been praising Anderson’s prose to the skies, and I figure it’s
about time I finally found out what all the fuss is about. PLUS, a Peter
Pan retelling! I mean, what could go
wrong? I’d love a copy to keep.

8. Bookends (any
kind) – I’m asking for IKEA gift cards for my birthday because this is the
year I’m sending myself all of the books that currently live under my parents’
stairs. Once those bookshelves are
purchased and assembled and the books are mailed, I’ll need bookends to keep
everything tidy!

9. Madeline sweatshirt by Out of Print
clothing – This is like the cutest thing ever, plus I love that color blue. MUST HAVE.

I've been seeing Hyperbole and a Half everywhere recently! It sounds like a great choice for a gift. I hope you manage to get your hands on a copy. And Tiger Lily is a must-read! I picked it up towards the end of last year and fell in love with it. I hope you like it. :)